Most Shakespeare plays require a degree of patience and perhaps a dictionary, but for the musical adaptation of “Pericles,” a tambourine might be more appropriate.
This tragicomedy about life, love and transformation has been reimagined as a two-hour-long musical inspired by the gospel traditions of the American Black church, and presented by the Public Works program of the Public Theater.
For more than a decade, the program has mounted a succession of streamlined works adapted into musicals at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, including “As You Like It” (2022) and “The Tempest” (2013). “Pericles” is a free, non-ticketed performance with first-come, first-served seating, and its cast is a mix of everyday New Yorkers and professional actors.
Denée Benton (“The Gilded Age”), who plays the princess Thaisa, said acting in the show has been a rite of passage and felt like the right move in the current political climate.
“I really love the Public’s commitment to free theater programming,” she said. “And especially when I think about how much our government is stripping back all public programming.”
Ato Blankson-Wood, who plays Pericles, echoed those sentiments. “Having modeled for them this figure, who, no matter what is thrown at him, is always trying to find the good, is always trying to find optimism, I think will, at least, be a balm for people right now,” he said.
Unusually, this year’s Public Works show will run at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Manhattan’s Morningside Heights neighborhood, starting Friday and continuing through Tuesday. Normally, Public Works takes over the Delacorte for a brief run after the regular Shakespeare in the Park season ends. “Pericles” was moved because the Delacorte, which recently underwent an 18-month, $85 million renovation, just opened a production of “Twelfth Night” that will run through Sept. 14.
On a warm Saturday this month, dozens of actors gathered for rehearsal at the Public Theater. A pianist at the front of the group played some soul-stirring tunes that shifted the energy in the room from calm to joyful, invoking the feeling of a Sunday service.
Troy Anthony, who wrote the show’s music and lyrics, sat behind a table watching his work come to life.
“They say write what you know, and that’s what I know,” Anthony said after rehearsal. “I grew up in the church, I grew up with gospel music.”
Anthony was commissioned to do the show more than four years ago and wrote 19 songs for it. He was partly inspired by gospel music’s ability to capture testimonies amid difficult times.
“There’s something about the way I’ve had to write these songs that are really just about the human condition, are just about things that I think may never go away,” he said.
“Pericles,” one of Shakespeare’s more convoluted yarns, follows an imperiled prince separated from his family by a series of tragedies. It includes a shipwreck and a tournament, and is peopled by princesses, pirates and prostitutes.
The show has cast 100 community members — ages 11 through 80 — from eight partner organizations across the five boroughs, including Children’s Aid and the Brownsville Recreation Center.
Among them is Kamal Sabra, 43, a Bronx resident, M.R.I. tech and first-time Public Works actor, who plays Antiochus, the evil king. His involvement with Public Works came through the Military Resilience Foundation. “It’s surreal sometimes to even be part of such a big production,” he said, adding that he hopes his participation would inspire others to consider Shakespeare.
“Shakespeare’s for everybody,” he said. “Whether you go to a fancy college or you’re a kid from Brooklyn.”
Fatemata Krubally, 26, an usher on Broadway and a Bronx resident who plays the nurse, Lychorida, clung to the joy that filled the rehearsals. “There is just this burst of energy that I don’t think you can get anywhere,” said Krubally, who initially became involved with Public Works eight years ago through the DreamYard organization.
“Pericles” is her fifth show. “This is a program with people from a lot different places, but we all have the same goal,” she said, “to show people how great this city is, how great theater is, how great Shakespeare is, how accessible it is.”
At rehearsal, Carl Cofield, the director, guided the cast through the show’s last quarter, meticulously making adjustments with each take.
“I don’t think you can come into this performance of ‘Pericles’ and not walk away touched on a profound level,” he said, adding that the audience will see Pericles grapple with existential questions about grief, loss and responsibility.
“Pericles” is opening at a time when the arts, and diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, are under attack by the Trump administration. In recent months, the president has cut funding to arts programs and demanded greater oversight of exhibitions at the Smithsonian museums.
“It’s such an overwhelming time right now,” Blankson-Wood said, “but I think it’s enough to have optimism and hope and perseverance modeled for us to keep us buoyed and going.”
Derrick Bryson Taylor is a Times reporter covering breaking news in culture and the arts.
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